Nathorst Alfred Gabriel
(07.11.1851–20.01.1921)
Well-known
Swedish botanist, paleontologist, geologist, polar explorer,
director of the Stockholm Museum of Natural History.
Born in Wederbrunn (Sodermanland).
Like his compatriot O. Nordensheld, Nathorst was a worthy
successor to the Swedish pioneers of polar exploration N.A. Nordenskiöld and O.
Torrel. In
1898 he participated in an expedition to the Antarctic, but his
main interests were Svalbard and Greenland.
Nathorst was very concerned about the fate of S.
Andre, while sailing around Spitsbergen, he was constantly
looking for some evidence that could shed light on his tragic fate.
Nathorst devoted much of his time to studying and determining the
exact location of
Bely Island and the archipelago of King Charles Land.
In 1899 he sailed to the shores of East Greenland, where between
72° and
74°N
he explored in
detail the fjords of Franz-Joseph, the Oscar King and their many
branches. And
in this area Nathorst was carefully searching for traces of the
Andre expedition.
In addition to his scientific research, the main focus of which
was paleontology, he paid much attention to articles devoted to
famous polar researchers such as F.
Nansen, O.
Sverdrup and others. From
1901 Nathorst was a foreign member-correspondent of the Russian
Academy of Sciences in the physics and mathematics department.
He died in Stockholm after a long illness. He
was buried at the North Cemetery in
Stockholm.
Glacier Peninsula (Nathorstbreen) and moraine on
the island of West Svalbard.
Territory (Nathorst
Land) in East Greenland.
Cape on
the island of Ellef-Ringness in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Cape on
the east coast of Dikson Bay on the island of Western Spitsbergen.
Mountains ( Alfredfjellet ) on
the southwestern shore of Bear Island, Svalbard. The
coordinates are 74°
23'N 19° 03'E.
Mountain south
of the Is Fjord Bay on the island of Western Spitsbergen.
Fjord (Nathorst
Fjord) on the east coast of Greenland.
The name of his daughter Ruth Nathorst called the cape in
the west of the island Bear. |